


Sleep Better Next To You

by pietromavximoff



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gratuitous Smut, Huddling For Warmth, Morning Wood, Mutual Pining, Porn with Feelings, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:21:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29001387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pietromavximoff/pseuds/pietromavximoff
Summary: Beth and Daryl stop in a cabin in the woods for the night but it's cold and they're freezing. When Beth remarks that body heat is supposed to help, they snuggle up close simply for warmth but when Beth wakes in the morning to Daryl's morning wood poking into her ass, she decides she needs to do something about it.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon & Beth Greene, Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene
Comments: 12
Kudos: 88





	Sleep Better Next To You

**Author's Note:**

> idea from https://bethsladybug.tumblr.com/post/149697689385/bethyl-prompts. i read it and couldn't get it out of my head. leave a comment if you enjoyed! :)

Beth and Daryl had been running for days before they came across the tiny cabin in the woods. Sleeping on the hard ground and waking the moment the sun came up was commonplace for them, but they weren’t about to deny themselves the luxury of holing up somewhere with walls, somewhere they could let their guards down a little more, somewhere they could at least get a decent sleep in.

Daryl nudged Beth as they drew nearer, exchanging a wary glance with her before nodding towards the back, where she approached with her knife drawn. It was clear, and so seemed the woods around them, but it was hard to make out much more than shadows in the quick-darkening night. This wasn’t surprising; as they’d gotten further and further away from roads and towns, the walkers seemed less and less. Still, they weren’t about to take any chances.

‘Clear.’ She murmured as she rounded the corner to find Daryl testing the front door, putting a hand up to warn her to stay back as he pushed it open. Beth followed him quietly, peering around and blinking in the sudden torchlight that flooded her vision. Daryl moved the torch around the corners of the room, warily stepping further in. The inside seemed even smaller than the outside; one dirty room that was not unlike the moonshine shack they’d burnt down, with old newspapers scattered across the grimy floor, broken glass and blood stains peppered around.

‘Home sweet home.’ Beth muttered, her stomach twisting at the grudging smile Daryl tried to hide, knowing he was thinking of the last time he’d said that, right before they’d got drunk off moonshine and set a fire that hadn’t gone out since. Right before everything had changed.

They didn’t speak about the shift between them, but it was there, and in the quiet of the woods it was so loud. Impossible to ignore. It had been little over three weeks since then, and every day Beth was finding something more to cling onto, something more that told her she wasn’t just romanticising things between her and Daryl. Because maybe he was doing things for her he’d do for anyone else, but she thought that maybe his eyes lingered over her skin a little too long when she got too hot for a jumper, thought that maybe his voice grew uneven each time they were forced into a close space, thought that maybe giving her tracking lessons and trusting her with his crossbow meant something.

‘Mhm.’ Daryl murmured, peering out the door before closing it softly, plunging them into darkness. Beth fiddled with the backpack strapped to him for a moment, digging around for the few candles they’d managed to make last, trying hard not to listen for the catches in his breath that always seemed to happen when she was so close.

‘Where’s the lighter?’ She muttered as she felt the bottom edges of the bag, colour flooding her cheeks and making her very glad that it was dark when Daryl muttered, ‘back pocket’ and they both reached for it at the same time, fingers brushing.

They flinched away, averting their eyes and ignoring whatever the hell was the reason for that as Daryl swallowed loud enough to hear the click in his throat, finally flicking the lighter on and illuminating the hollows of his face with an orangey glow.

‘Here.’ His voice was gravelly as he shouldered off the bag, moving towards the middle of the cramped room and lighting the candles that Beth lay out. She hurriedly moved them around so they could at least see most of the room, sprawling the few thin blankets they had across the blood-stained floor as Daryl secured the front door and windows.

Beth clutched her arms around herself as she settled on the floor, shivering slightly and eyes unconsciously raking over every inch of the room just in case they’d missed something worth scavenging, or else something that could harm them. She didn’t realise Daryl was watching her until he cleared his throat and asked, ‘y’cold?’

The days were still warm enough that they could get away with the clothes on their backs but the nights were steadily getting colder, and if the cool breeze that blew through the cabin now was anything to go off, tonight would be no exception.

‘A bit.’ Beth admitted, eyes following him as he came over and slumped down on the ground next to her, crossbow placed close enough to reach within a moment’s notice.

‘Bit?’ Daryl asked, voice laced with amusement as he raised a brow, eyes travelling down her arms where, as though they hadn’t been there before, they erupted in goosebumps. Hoping she could simply attribute this to the cold, Beth shrugged, but Daryl did not seem convinced.

‘Shakin’ like a damn leaf, girl.’

‘It’s fine. You’re not cold?’ Beth mumbled, teeth traitorously chattering together and Daryl shook his head, taking off his flannel and throwing it to her. Beth’s mouth grew dry as she took it gratefully, wrapping it around herself and drawing her knees up to her chin, trying not to think of how his scent was enveloping her.

‘You know, I’m beginning to think you’re a real sweetheart underneath all that dirt.’ She mused, allowing soft smile to take over her mouth as Daryl seemed to bristle under the compliment.

‘You’re a pain in my ass, Greene.’

Beth laughed at that, teeth still clattering together as she rubbed her hands up and down her legs, holes in her jeans disloyally letting in cold air.

‘Act tough all you want, I know you’re a big softie.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Daryl asked, quirking an eyebrow and sitting back on his haunches, legs stretching out so close that they nearly touched her. ‘How’s that?’

In the candlelight Beth could see the gleam in his blue eyes as he waited for an answer, the way they flickered over her lips as she spoke. She couldn’t be imagining this. She could also be severely dehydrated and missing intimacy that much that she was just convincing herself to see something that wasn’t there.

‘Cause you were never like this before. At the prison. At the farm.’ Her voice was a little softer, but she knew Daryl didn’t miss the meaning behind her words. A harsh wind blew outside, making the old wood creak around them.

‘Yeah, I was a dick.’ He muttered evenly, tilting his head a little as though he hadn’t thought that she’d noticed before. He was fumbling with his shoelaces, eyes still searching her face as though he wanted her to tell him otherwise.

‘Yeah, you were.’ She agreed and he blew out an exasperated breath and turned away from her, that infuriatingly tiny grin working its way onto his face again. ‘God knows how I wound up with such a jerk like you.’

Daryl allowed the teasing smile to cut across his face as he shook his head ruefully at her cheek. ‘You ever get tired of runnin’ that mouth of yours? Cause I can fix that.’

His voice was barely more than a growl and was spiked with something heavier than humour, something with weight to it, something that made a shiver run through Beth’s body that had nothing to do with the cold. She caught his eye again and he seemed to still, biting down on the inside of his cheek like he wasn’t sure if he’d gone too far, but Beth was positively delighted. Daryl Dixon – flirting with her? She’d never have believed it months ago, wouldn’t have even believed it of him in general, but with him watching her like that and that playful tone escaping his lips it couldn’t be anything else. It was something new for them and yet it felt like a dance they’d practised many times before, only now they were noticing. It felt familiar; It felt exciting.

Beth faked a yawn as she leaned back on her elbows, hard floor sending spikes of pain up her arms that she ignored in favour of holding his gaze. ‘Mhm, sure you can.’

Daryl huffed out a breath, crossing his legs. ‘Don’t start somethin’ you can’t finish, girl.’

A giddy laugh bubbled out of Beth’s chest and echoed through the small cabin. She scrunched her face up for a moment, glancing around and worried that she’d broken the tension between them by causing him to worry about the noise drawing walkers near, but when her eyes found his again all apprehension left her mind. Daryl was frozen, watching her with the ghost of a smile on his lips and his eyes wide, chest rattling as he took in a deep breath, face flushing with colour. He cleared his throat and looked away so quickly that Beth was sure she’d imagined this reaction up until he said, ‘should get some rest’ and the jagged edges of his voice gave his racing heart away. Because of her laugh. She’d made him like that because of her laugh. Even when they were in mortal danger she’d never seen Daryl so dazed before, could never imagine that she held the power to make him suddenly clumsy.

‘Yeah.’ Beth breathed, hurriedly rearranging the blankets on the ground for something to do as Daryl blew out the candles. Now in the darkness and with the silence that had taken over, there was nothing to distract her from the biting cold that was slowly seeping into her bones. She lay down, curling in on herself to try and keep the heat concentrated in her centre, feeling Daryl’s presence next to her as he scooted onto the makeshift bed and lay down quietly. After a minute of listening to his shallow breaths echoing hers, she knew that he was feeling the cold just as much. Suddenly guilty that she had his shirt, she rolled over and felt a startle through her as her face lined up with his, much closer than she realised. He’d been staring at the ceiling, rubbing his hands together for warmth, and at her sudden closeness he turned, and somehow their noses were nearly touching and it took Beth all she had not to let out a moan at the throb that went through her pussy. God – she needed to get a grip. His scent was all around her – woody smell from his flannel in her nose and the cigarettes on his breath clouding her head.

‘Thought you weren’t cold.’ She said in a whisper, wriggling out of his flannel and placing it over his chest.

‘Thought you were.’ He grunted right back, teeth knocking together and betraying him. He threw the top back over Beth and a giggle came out of the lips she was sure were turning blue.

‘Wish we could light a fire.’ She mumbled, the sleep tugging at her eyes juxtaposed by the chill biting into her skin, demanding she stay awake. Her shivering was only getting worse, knobbly knees knocking together when she drew them closer, bumping into Daryl’s thigh.

‘Rather be in here than out there.’ Daryl muttered, kneeing her right back and despite how freezing she was, it seemed she still had room for warmth in her gut because at his touch, her stomach burst into flames.

‘You ever heard of personal space?’ Beth teased lightly, poking him in the shoulder and feeling a thrill run through her at his soft bark of laughter.

‘Fuck you.’

‘Maybe I will. It’ll keep me warm enough.’

Daryl snorted. ‘Go on, then.’

The silence between them now was deafening, so loud that Beth could barely make sense of what she’d just insinuated let alone form a response with her thick tongue. She cleared her throat, wrapping her arms tighter around her chest and ignoring the feeling of her hard nipples practically poking through her bra, pretending they were from the cold.

‘Shut up.’ She muttered, scowling, and she could practically hear Daryl’s smile growing in the dark.

‘Mhm. Got any other bright ideas?’

For a few more minutes the silence won, spreading through the gaps in the wooden frame of the cabin like the cold, settling over them so thickly that she would have been sure Daryl was asleep if it wasn’t for the bright blue of his eyes still somehow shining through the darkness, blinking every now and then at the ceiling. There was something that would help, of course, something that Beth had thought about far more times than she cared to admit the last few weeks, particularly at night, particularly when the curves of Daryl’s biceps were glistening with sweat and it was all she could do to tear her eyes away and not imagine them wrapped around her.

‘Body heat is supposed to help, right? Like, huddling together for warmth.’

Daryl was quiet for a moment, but Beth knew that he was not immune to the cold like he’d have her believe. Finally, he turned his body to face her and suddenly they were so close that the air around them seemed to grow thicker and she was already several degrees warmer.

‘Turn ‘round.’

The grain in Daryl’s voice left Beth very little room to think about much else. She shifted around, tremors shooting through her as another bitter wind pushed through the shack. Daryl shuffled closer behind her, and rest his hand on her waist lightly, palm warm through her top. Then, as though he was unsure of what to do next, he let his hand tentatively snake across her belly before pulling her in tighter, and it was like she’d clicked into a puzzle she didn’t know she was a part of. Because she fit so well against him that it was a crime they hadn’t done this before, that they’d spent so many nights sleeping apart when they could have had this. She knew by the sharp intake of breath behind her that Daryl was feeling the same.

‘Better?’ He asked in a slightly strangled voice.

‘Yeah, a bit.’ Beth breathed out, trying to still the shaking of her hands. Her jeans were still cold against her legs though, and although his body was providing infinitely more heat than she’d be able to produce alone, she knew that they’d still freeze their asses off when the night grew inevitably colder.

‘Y’still cold, ain’t you?’ Daryl muttered after a moment, warm breath tickling her neck and making her squirm against him. It sounded as though sleep was tugging at his edges, making his voice impossibly raspy. ‘C’mon, get this off.’

‘What?’

‘Your clothes, take ‘em off. Body heat an’ all that. Skin on skin’s better.’

‘Right.’ Beth said quickly, her heart beating a tattoo into her ribs as she quickly unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it over her head, trying desperately not to concentrate on the noises that told her Daryl was doing exactly the same thing. She hesitated when it came to her jeans, wondering if Daryl would do the same but at the sound of his zipper being pulled down she followed suit, feeling an absurd amount of adrenaline pumping through her body, and all of a sudden there was no need for this anymore, because she was nowhere near cold. She was burning.

‘Alright, come on.’ Daryl’s rough voice was back at her neck as they lay down again, and this time when he slid his hand over her waist and splayed it out across her bare stomach, she felt her heart stop. His hands were rough, calloused and worn and so so perfect against her soft skin, so tantalisingly close to the edges of her underwear that she felt a wetness spreading between her thighs. Beth tried to steady her breathing against him so he wouldn’t hear just what his touch was doing to her, pretending to fiddle with her bra straps as she took in a deep, shaking breath. Daryl grunted, pulling her in closer and there suddenly wasn’t a spot of their bodies that weren’t touching, and Beth could feel everything. The corded muscles of his biceps wrapped around her as his hands moved up and down her waist, creating warmth that she no longer needed, the hard edges of his hips as they pressed into her, his legs tangling up into hers and rendering her speechless.

‘There you go.’ Daryl muttered, head so close that the scratchy stubble on his chin was tickling her shoulder. ‘Warm now?’

‘Yeah.’ Beth breathed, his grip on her pulling into a deliciously warm sleep, finally allowing her to be tired. ‘Heaps better. You?’

‘Yeah.’ Daryl rumbled, and she felt his voice through his chest against her back, vibrating right through her, right before she closed her eyes.

* * *

Beth didn’t realise she’d fallen asleep until she blinked awake the next morning, dull sunlight streaming through slats of wood on the boarded up windows. The moment she shifted she felt Daryl’s heavy weight on her and at once she was wide awake, stilling as he pressed his body into her at her sudden movement. His steady breathing told her he was still asleep, and there was not a moment in the last few weeks where they’d slept completely through the night, let alone where Daryl was not awake before her, and Beth took the opportunity to still her painfully racing heart. She’d slept so well that it was almost disorienting, trying to remember the night before and how they’d gotten all but naked because they were so cold. And then, just as she replayed their last conversation through her head, a cramp went through the arm she was laying on and she shifted to relieve herself, unintentionally pushing her ass into Daryl and taking in a small breath as she felt his hard cock pressing into her. Blood pounded through her veins and suddenly her mind was unable to focus on anything else – not wondering if it was the afternoon yet or what they were going to eat that day or if they were still as safe here as they were last night. Because Daryl Dixon’s big dick was pushing into her ass and his hand was still tightly around her waist and when she experimentally wiggled around a little, he held her closer, still asleep. Beth’s mouth was dry, her pussy suddenly throbbing with need as she took a shallow breath in, not wanting to wake him because she knew that he needed the sleep. Her change in breathing seemed to have done it however, because at the different pace in rise and fall of her chest Daryl stirred awake behind her, his breathing a little sharper as he pulled himself out of his dreams.

For a moment the only noise was the soft chirping of the birds outside the cabin as they both lay in silence, Beth feeling heat flood to her face although she knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Daryl cleared his throat, hand still resting on her waist, heart thumping into her chest. ‘Mornin’.’

‘Morning.’

‘Sleep alright?’

Beth swallowed hard. ‘Best in ages. You?’

Daryl hummed against her in agreement. ‘Ain’t slept that good in a long time.’

The words were coming out of Beth’s mouth before she could stop them. ‘Yeah, I can tell.’

Daryl stilled against her, and as though she’d somehow drawn all the attention to his groin, his hard cock twitched against her ass, and suddenly the scraps of cotton separating them may as well have not been there. And maybe it was because she’d had the best sleep she’d had in weeks, or maybe it was because Daryl hadn’t moved away from her yet, but Beth felt a stroke of boldness rush through her as she pushed her ass back into him, hard. For a split-second Daryl gripped her harder, bucking his hips into her and burying his cock so deep between her ass cheeks that Beth actually gasped. Then, as though his body had reacted of its own accord, Daryl pulled away from her hastily, sitting up and clearing his throat.

‘I – uh – ‘m sorry –’

Beth was sitting up just as quickly, forgetting that she was practically naked, feeling the fractured sunlight falling over her chest but suddenly cold.

‘It’s okay, Daryl.’

Daryl met her eyes again, halfway through pulling on his shirt hastily. Beth let her eyes drift down to the hard lump in his groin, practically begging to be relieved and all she wanted was to feel him that close to her again.

‘I don’t . . .’ she shook her head, hardly daring to believe she was about to say this to him, knowing it could ruin everything, ‘I liked it.’

Daryl didn’t move, letting his tongue dart out to wet his lips as he muttered, ‘what’d I tell you ‘bout startin’ shit you can’t finish?’

Beth’s heart fluttered in her chest. ‘Who says I can’t finish it?’

Daryl snorted. ‘You don’t know what you’re sayin’.’

Beth was impatient now, weeks worth of pent up desire suddenly demanding an out. She dragged her ass over to him and placed her hand over his groin, squeezing his hard cock.

‘Fuck –’ Daryl groaned, melting immediately under her touch, blue eyes turning wild. For a second they held each other’s gazes, and Daryl must have seen that same stubborn thing behind her eyes that he had, because he let out a low growl before he pulled her on top of him and kissed her.

Beth’s chest tightened as her heart exploded against her ribs, lips parting to allow Daryl’s tongue to drag along hers, pushing her hips down into his lap with bruising pressure. He fell back against the mess of blankets they’d slept on and Beth followed, pinning her hands down onto either side of his head and dragging her already dripping pussy along the length of his cock. Daryl’s hands went straight to her ass, big and tight against her soft skin, massaging her cheeks and coaxing her closer. He broke away from her lips for a moment to groan, and it was a noise Beth had never heard him make before – almost animalistic – and when she unhooked her bra and let her breasts bounce against his bare chest, he whimpered.

‘Christ, Beth –’ He grunted as he bucked his hips up into her, rolling her over so that he was on top of her now instead. ‘You ain’t got any idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.’

Beth’s breath caught as his lips found hers again, pussy throbbing with the knowledge that he’d wanted her all this time as well. She whined needily when he dragged his lips across her jaw, rough stubble scratching her neck before his tongue was swirling around her hard nipples. He sucked at her small breasts, lips closing around them and teeth teasing her with a lick of pain that only made her more restless.

‘Fuck, Daryl.’ Beth moaned lowly as one of his hands found the waistband of her underwear, pushing them down and grinning against her breasts as she kicked them off eagerly. He wasted no time playing his fingers over her swollen clit, and she was so close already that a few touches from him had her panting hard, fighting for control as he slid two fingers through her slick opening.

Daryl bit down on her breast at the feel of how wet she was, bringing his head back to her neck and sucking the soft skin there as he pumped his fingers into her. Beth’s hands were fumbling with his underwear, and when she finally managed to pull them down and let his cock spring free, he swore into her shoulder. She stroked his length slowly a few times, marvelling at how thick he was, heart palpitating in anticipation as his slit wept pre come along her fingers.

‘Want your cock in me so bad.’ Beth gasped into his mouth as he slid another finger into her, collecting her wet and pulling out to rub her clit in circles.

‘Gonna fuck you. Nice and quick, mm? That how you want it?’ Daryl teased, breath tickling her neck as he pulled his fingers away from her pussy, now balancing over her as his cock slapped against her clit. Beth couldn’t take it anymore, a heat flooding through her that was demanding release. She wrapped her hand around the base of his dick, lining him up with her sopping opening and lifting her head to bite down on his shoulder as he thrust into her.

Daryl moaned softly as he filled her, head collapsing against hers as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and into her hair. Beth’s eyes fluttered open to see Daryl’s eyebrows knitting together in pleasure, his mouth parted and tongue in his cheeks as he pushed into her again.

‘Fuck, your cunt is so tight.’ He growled and Beth arched her back as goosebumps erupted over her breasts as his words fell over her. He pulled out of her slowly, relishing in the feeling and waiting until she twitched underneath him before slamming back into her, hands tangling in her hair.

‘Yeah, right there.’ Beth breathed, hands digging into his ass as he began pounding into her hard, feeling a pressure building in her gut that was long overdue. ‘Fuck me right there. Oh, fuck – Daryl, harder –’

Daryl’s balls were slapping against her ass loudly, his ragged breaths swallowed by her as she pulled him in for a bruising kiss. One of his hands dipped down her body, squeezing her breasts before settling under one of her thighs, tilting her up and impossibly close as he fucked her harder.

‘I’m gonna come Daryl, fuck – fuck – make me come –’ Beth was practically begging now, all self-control out the window but it didn’t matter, because Daryl was fucking her better than she could ever have imagined. His cock was sliding in and out of her with such ease that it was almost unbearable, and when he curled his arm around her leg even harder, lifting her ass off the ground, she had to bite back the scream that had risen in her chest as she came, lungs failing as her orgasm tore through her pussy. Daryl seemed to be holding out for her, because as she came so did he, knees buckling and falling into her as he pulled out sloppily, head buried in her neck and panting her name as his hot come shot across her stomach.

They lay wrapped up in each other, sticky and sweating for a few minutes, both breathing hard. Then, Beth scratched at Daryl’s arms and he lifted off her, hair falling over his eyes messily. He looked like he wanted to say something but words seemed to fail him as he shook his head, pulling her in for a kiss that turned her stomach inside out. When they broke apart Daryl was grinning at her and the sight of him this happy because of her sent a warmth through her chest that she didn’t think would ever leave, that she didn’t ever want to leave.

‘Well, we could always try that next time we’re cold.’


End file.
